Financial Services UK

  • April 01, 2025

    EU Watchdogs Call For Simplified Securitization Rules

    The European Union's finance watchdogs have called on the European Commission to simplify the rules governing securitizations in a bid to make the market more competitive.

  • April 01, 2025

    Businessmen Blame Parent Company In £11.8M Loan Dispute

    Three businessmen have hit back at an investment fund's accusations that they allowed it to issue £11.8 million ($15.2 million) in loans for property developments that it alleged were likely to fail, telling a London court the fund's parent company was responsible.

  • April 01, 2025

    Major Banks Appeal To Block Class In £2.7B Forex Case

    A group of major banks accused the Court of Appeal on Tuesday of circumventing Britain's specialist competition tribunal when it allowed a £2.7 billion ($3.5 billion) foreign exchange claim to go ahead against them as an opt-out class action.

  • April 01, 2025

    Motor Finance Ruling Was 'Egregious Error,' Lenders Say

    Motor finance firms urged the U.K. Supreme Court on Tuesday to overturn findings that car dealers owed a legal duty to act in the interests of their customers, as a landmark hearing that could determine the size of compensation bills begins.

  • April 01, 2025

    Reform Pensions To Tackle Retirement Risks, Think Tank Says

    Pension reforms are necessary to ensure that savers can successfully navigate the "risks and complexities" of managing their retirement savings in later life, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned Tuesday.

  • March 31, 2025

    Billions On The Line As Justices Weigh Motor Finance Appeal

    Britain's highest court will consider on Tuesday whether hidden commission payments made by lenders to car dealers were unlawful in a case that could leave banks on the hook for billions of bounds in damages and have legal ramifications far beyond motor finance.

  • March 31, 2025

    Bank Says Caribbean Decision Blocks £415M VAT Fraud Case

    A Caribbean bank argued in court Monday it could not be sued in England over a £415 million ($537 million) value-added tax fraud, because the matter had already been resolved by a judgment in Curaçao.

  • March 31, 2025

    Trade Body Seeks Consumer Duty Slack For Wholesale Banks

    A financial services trade body on Monday is pressuring regulators to exempt wholesale banks servicing primarily corporate clients from the Consumer Duty regime to give companies easier access to capital.

  • March 31, 2025

    Lloyds Bank Covers £5.1B Pension Liabilities With Rothesay

    The trustee of two Lloyds Banking Group pension schemes said Monday it has penned two insurance policies totaling £5.1 billion ($6.6 billion) with Rothesay Life PLC to cover the cost of unexpected increases in the life expectancy of their members.

  • March 31, 2025

    BoE Proposes Raising Deposit Protection Scheme Limit

    The regulatory arm of the Bank of England set out proposals on Monday to raise the deposit protection limit of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme from £85,000 ($110,000) to £110,000, warning banks that they should prepare now.

  • March 31, 2025

    Akin Appoints White & Case Lawyer For Middle East Boost

    Akin has hired Jennifer Riddle from White & Case as a project finance partner, a move it believes will bolster its growth plans for the Middle East.

  • March 28, 2025

    VistaJet Escapes VC Fund's Claim Over Investment Deal

    A private jet company owner escaped allegations from a Guernsey venture capital fund that he secretly set up companies to leverage the resources of a business it had invested in, when a London court ruled Friday that the claim came too late.

  • March 28, 2025

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen sparkling winemaker Nyetimber hit a rival distillery with an intellectual property claim, Newcastle United's former owner Mike Ashley target the club's ex-vice president for damages tied to a fraudulent investment, and a real estate agency file a legal claim against law firm Winston & Strawn LLP. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • March 28, 2025

    Santander Whistleblower Cannot Add FCA Info To Claim

    An employment tribunal has rejected a former financial crime policy manager's bid to widen her second whistleblowing claim against Santander to include correspondence with the financial watchdog, ruling that the changes were too fundamental to the basis of her claim.

  • March 28, 2025

    Wealth Manager Beats €50M Investment Fraud Case

    A wealth manager has defeated a €50 million ($54.1 million) investment fraud case brought by an Italian investment vehicle, after a London judge ruled Friday that the losses were the result of "market turmoil" caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • March 28, 2025

    BoE Proposes To Adjust Capital Buffer For Certain Big Banks

    The Bank of England proposed Friday to adjust the levels of asset holdings requiring large domestic banks to provide extra capital, supporting growth but risking financial stability.

  • March 28, 2025

    UK Pensions Watchdog Pledges To Cut Red Tape

    The U.K.'s retirement savings watchdog on Friday committed to cutting the "burden" of unnecessary and outdated financial regulations that could be hampering pension savers' interests.

  • March 28, 2025

    FCA Tests 'Targeted Support' Model With 12 Finance Firms

    The Financial Conduct Authority said Friday it has given 12 companies until April to give targeted support to consumers, an experiment ahead of a new regulatory model that will fill the gap between general guidance and advice for pensions and investments.

  • March 27, 2025

    Citibank Settles Ex-Exec's Maternity Discrimination Claims

    Citibank has agreed to pay £215,000 ($278,000) to a former assistant vice president to settle her claims that the bank discriminated against her when she was passed up for promotion on her return from maternity leave.

  • March 27, 2025

    Hayes Thought Libor Submissions Were Legal, Lawyer Argues

    Counsel for Tom Hayes urged Britain's top court Thursday to overturn the trader's conviction for rate rigging, arguing his client didn't believe that there was a law "which absolutely prohibits" the consideration of trading advantage when making submissions.

  • March 27, 2025

    6 Insurers Penned £5B-Plus In Pension Deals In 'Record' 2024

    Six insurers wrote over £5 billion ($6.5 billion) each in pension deals for the first time in 2024, Lane Clark & Peacock LLP said Thursday, highlighting a risk transfer market "firing on all cylinders" with new entrants increasing competition.

  • March 27, 2025

    Russian Pol's Wife Says Sanctions Breach Allegation 'Fantasy'

    The wife of a former Russian politician said Thursday during her London trial for allegedly breaching sanctions against her husband that she did not know at the time that the U.K. and EU had separate sanctions regimes.

  • March 27, 2025

    Former Barclays Exec Fights For £3.5M Deferred Bonus

    A former head of credit trading at Barclays has argued that he is owed a £3.5 million ($4.5 million) bonus package after he left the bank and joined a hedge fund following his son's diagnosis with a rare disease.

  • March 27, 2025

    RPC-Led Stock Market Tracker To Delist From AIM

    Stock price provider ADVFN PLC said Thursday that it intends to exit the London Stock Exchange's junior market and go private amid concerns about "significant headwinds" for the broader stock market.

  • March 27, 2025

    InvestAcc Group To Buy AJ Bell Pension Unit For £25M

    Investment platform company AJ Bell said Thursday it will sell its pensions administration arm to InvestAcc Group Ltd. for £25 million ($32.5 million), amid a business restructure.

Expert Analysis

  • New UK Short Selling Rules Diverge From EU Regs

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    Although forthcoming changes to the U.K.’s short selling regulatory regime represent a welcome relaxation of restrictions and simplification of reporting processes, participants active in both the U.K. and EU markets will need to ensure compliance with two quite different sets of rules, says Ezra Zahabi at Akin.

  • What Latest FCA Portfolio Letter Means For Payments Firms

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    Charlotte Hill at Charles Russell discusses the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent portfolio letter to CEOs of payments firms, outlining the regulator’s expectations, and the steps that these companies may now need to take to ensure compliance and operational effectiveness.

  • ECB Guide Targets Harmonized Cyber Testing Approach

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    The European Central Bank’s recently updated guidance for testing organizational resilience against sophisticated cyberattacks is a significant step forward, highlighting the importance of a unified approach to financial sector cybersecurity and alignment with Digital Operational Resilience Act requirements, say Simon Onyons and Nebu Varghese at FTI Consulting.

  • Opinion

    Prospects For New Fraud Prevention Prosecution Look Slim

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    With the Labour Party's inherited patchwork of Conservative Party corporate crime legislation for preventing fraud and corruption, the forthcoming Economic Crime Act’s failure to prevent fraud offense is unlikely to be successful in assisting prosecutors bring companies to justice, says Matthew Cowie at Rahman Ravelli.

  • What's Next After FCA Drops Troubled 'Name And Shame' Plan

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    A closer look at the Financial Conduct Authority's recent decision to toss its widely unpopular proposal changing the test for announcing enforcement investigations may reveal how we got here, why the regulator changed course, and where it’s headed next, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.

  • UK Refusal Of US Extradition Request May Set New Standard

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    The recent U.K. Supreme Court ruling in El-Khouri v. U.S., denying a U.S. extradition request, overturns a long-held precedent and narrows how U.K. courts must decide such requests, potentially signaling a broader reevaluation of U.K. extradition law, say lawyers at Dechert and Kingsley Napley.

  • Insights On ESMA's Alternative Investment Fund Consultation

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    Aaron Mulcahy at Maples Group discusses key points from the European Securities and Markets Authority’s recent consultation on open-ended loan-originating alternative investment funds, highlighting the growth in semi-liquid evergreen funds and explaining ESMA’s proposed standards.

  • How UK Supreme Court May Assess Russia Sanctions Cases

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    In two recent U.K. Supreme Court cases challenging the U.K. Russia sanctions regime, the forthcoming judgments are likely to focus on proportionality and European Convention on Human Rights compatibility, and will undoubtedly influence how future challenges are shaped, says Leigh Crestohl at Zaiwalla.

  • New UK Order Offers Welcome Clarity To Crypto Staking Rules

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    The recently effective Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 Amendment Order clarifies that arrangements for qualifying crypto-asset staking do not amount to a collective investment scheme, and by addressing an issue that curtailed staking activities in the U.K., facilitates the use of that practice, says Andrew Henderson at Goodwin.

  • How EU's Anticoercion Tool May Counter New US Tariffs

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    The never-before-used anticoercion instrument could allow the European Union to respond to the imposition of U.S. tariffs, potentially effective March 12, and gives EU companies a voice in the process as it provides for consultation with economic operators at different steps throughout the procedure, say lawyers at Crowell & Moring.

  • Takeaways From BoE Progress Updates On UK Digital Pound

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    The Bank of England’s recent update on a decision concerning a digital pound indicates that there is scope for innovation in the payments landscape that can help to boost economic growth, while keeping the U.K. firmly in the global conversation on digital currency development, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.

  • Key Themes From New PRA Supervisory Letters

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    Two recent supervisory letters from the Prudential Regulation Authority outline priorities for international banks and U.K. deposit takers for the year ahead, including the need to strengthen risk culture, manage credit risk and govern data integrity, all of which indicate that banks will face greater regulatory interest in their internal controls, say lawyers at Skadden.

  • Banker Remuneration Proposals Could Affect More Than Pay

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    The Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority’s pending proposals to reduce banker remuneration restrictions bring obvious personal financial advantages for bankers, but may have repercussions that result in increased scrutiny of bonus payments and wider changes to workplace culture and overall accountability, say lawyers at Fox Williams.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • EU Report May Influence Regulation Of Decentralized Finance

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    The European supervisory authorities’ recent report on decentralized finance highlights the major regulatory challenges and increased cybersecurity risks of this ecosystem, and will likely provide useful guidance on how the market could be regulated to limit potential risks for investors, say Hubert de Vauplane and Hugo Bordet at Morgan Lewis.

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